Best Mountain Bike Trails in Te Mata Peak
Located near Havelock North in Hawke's Bay, Te Mata Peak features a comprehensive network of purpose-built mountain bike trails completed in 2017, ranging from Grade 2 (easy) to Grade 6 (extreme). The trails are separated from walking paths and offer scenic views across the landscape, with well-designed features including rollers, berms, jumps, and technical challenges for all skill levels.
Trails
Showing 1 - 10 of 20 trails
Intermediate
3.4 km
374m
-29m
11h 5m
Double/farm track that's an option for climbing back up to the water tanks after descending Te Ihu. A non-technical walking/running track compared with others in the park which have more exposure and technicality.For riders some sections are very steep and all but the fittest may prefer to get off and push or take a breather, particularly the rutted and lumpy final climb. It crosses the descending Te Kahu track near the top, so watch for riders heading downhill at pace. From a riding perspective, due to the steepness, traction, and state of the surface in places it's more of an intermediate track compared with other green trails in the park like Chambers Walkway.
Intermediate
262m
2m
-9m
25 min
Flow trail descending from Hikanui Drive to Tauroa Road. Use to link with the Tauroa Stream Track or carry on to bottom of Te Mata Park
Intermediate
730m
73m
-7m
7h 37m
Uphill access for Te Kahika track (new at end of 2020). A couple of steep pinch gradients. Crosses lower Te Kahu at the bottom and Te Kahika itself near the top - look out for downhill riders
Easy
335m
17m
1h 45m
Easy
807m
43m
54 min
Short section of multi-use track to lap the lower portion of the downhill track
Advanced
3.1 km
-254m
4h 34m
Bike only, down direction only towards Tauroa Road carpark. Can be slippery and narrow in the trees with some alternate advanced lines, including an optional step up where the A line crosses over the B line. Once you exit the trees there is an easy (left) and a hard (right) line. The hard line has some drops and rollable doubles and an optional skinny that finishes with a significant drop. The easy line is more of a pump track where the rollers can be doubled, and an optional rock feature wallride of sorts. A nice transfer from right line to left line is available for the eagle-eyed. Both lines cross the Kowhai Climb so keep an eye out for uphill riders approx 200m after exiting the trees.
Extremely difficult
507m
1m
-93m
4h 4m
Be aware of the numerous chutes and drops along this trail. This is a Grade 6 (extreme) trail, on the steepest of terrain with three jumps about 2m high. Ngati Hori is not for the faint-hearted nor the inexperienced, but it does have Grade 4 chicken lines around the jumps Try them when you are ready or wait to watch someone else.
Easy
571m
1m
-32m
1h 49m
Multi-use two-way route from Keith Sands Grove to the bottom of the downhill track